Ecuador court doles out prison terms in $43 million Albanian mafia scheme

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QUITO (Reuters) -An Ecuadorean anti-corruption court sentenced eight people to prison and sanctioned three companies for their role in a money laundering scheme linked to the Albanian mafia, the prosecutor’s office in the Andean country announced on Friday.

Those convicted were part of a network that sent drugs from Ecuador to Europe using registered companies to launder assets worth $43.4 million, according to the prosecutor’s office.

All eight individuals received prison terms of more than 17 years, while four of those found guilty were also convicted on organized crime charges on Thursday linked to the Albanian mafia. In Spain, other suspects in the case face separate trials.

Ecuadorean prosecutors found that an Albanian national, identified as Dritan G, led the criminal network, along with an Argentine businessman and an Ecuadorean. The group was convicted of creating several companies in order to hide money and illicit assets linked to drug trafficking.

The prosecutors’ investigation determined that the ringleader of the criminal enterprise remains at large, but those sentenced are believed to be accomplices in the scheme.

The prosecution requested a sentence of between 10 years and 13 years for the eight defendants and that the three companies be dissolved and their assets confiscated.

(Reporting by Alexandra Valencia; Editing by David Alire Garcia)